Worlds of Obsession (Celtic Otherworlds) (30 page)

Chapter 32

             
Bastien returned home with a heavy heart and clutching a bouquet of flowers.  Apparently, he had really fucked things up, and he now realized how little he knew about females… especially ones raised in the modern human world, because he hadn’t exactly been paying attention to things like that.  At least not for the last couple of hundred years or so.  He was going to have to work hard to control his instincts and go slow.  He had to win her heart, because there was no fucking way he was living without it.  Once he had her heart, she would be his forever. 

As he thought about their short time together, about the way she laughed and her amazing inner strength, her intoxicating scent and the taste of her… he realized that whether or not she was his predestined mate, he already loved every part of her.  Loved her
so much it actually hurt, and the ache filled him up so completely that he thought he just might burst.  He would do whatever it took to keep her by his side.  He looked at the flowers he gripped tightly in his hand.  Should he have written a note to go with them?  Carman hadn’t said anything about that.  Too late now anyway, and she was probably just going to kick him in the nuts as soon as he walked through the door. And yes, he probably deserved it.

He headed for his bedroom where he had left her waiti
ng and unlocked the door, his nerves almost getting the best of him.  He opened it, and his gaze swept the room.  Not here.  “Liv?” he called out.  But there was no answer.  The flowers fell from his grip and scattered over the floor.  “Liv?”  Then he saw the piece of paper neatly folder and placed on his pillow.  His hands shook as he reached for it and opened it up.  The words ripped through him and his fist closed convulsively around the note, crumpling it.  “No!”  The word was like a cry of pain.  Then he roared “No, Liv!  You can’t
leave
me, I’m nothing without you, do you hear me?  Nothing!”  No way would he allow this!  She belonged to him,
with
him, and walking away was not an option, no matter how badly he behaved.  Fury and determination clawed relentlessly at his mind as he stalked from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

             
He sensed the figure in the main hall before he even saw him.  “Father.”  Bastien was not in the mood to be lectured, and he wasn’t even in the mood for ‘I told you so’, though he had every right to say those words to the male standing before him.  He could care less right now what his father thought or didn’t think.  He only wanted to find Liv, and so he headed for the door with nothing but a cold stare for the man who had given him life.

             
“It was for the best, son.  One day you’ll thank me.”

             
Bastien froze, turning slowly as chills of foreboding skittered down his spine.  He did not recognize his own voice, it was so dark and icy and filled with death. 
“What did you do?”

             
“I did what I had to, what any father would do for his son.  I returned her to Balor.”

             
The roar that rang through the building not only shook the windows, but brought the Guild running from every direction.  It took three males to restrain Bastien while another held his father out of harm’s way.  Erath looked back and forth between the two of them while Jace and half a dozen other males held them apart.  His brow knitted with concern.  “Bastien, what happened?”

             
“He took Liv.  He took her to Balor.” 

             
“Fuck!  Why?”  Lucien turned a murderous glare on Bastien’s father.  “What the fuck were you thinking?  Hasn’t he suffered enough?”

             
Baltoir blinked at him, his confusion evident as his stance relaxed just a little.

             
“Go,” Erath said firmly.  “Go after her Bastien.  I will take care of him until you return.”

***

Liv woke slowly, cracking her eyes open just wide enough to see a gray, stone ceiling above her.  Shadows danced across it, as if the light in the room was coming from a candle or a torch.  Her head swam and her mouth felt as if though it had been stuffed with cotton.  Had she been drugged?  She really didn’t remember anything after those two thugs had grabbed her.  Well, one thug and one irate father.  Geez!  Bastien was going to be furious.  The bastard hadn’t even given her a chance to explain before he dragged her off to... wait, where was she, anyway?  Liv heard a loud scuffing noise on the floor nearby, and she lifted her head just a little to look around.  A strong wave of dizziness hit her and her head dropped back to the ground, but not before she had seen exactly what she was up against. 

The hellhounds circled her, their red eyes glowing l
ike embers in the dim light.  Somehow, she knew exactly what they were… Balor’s pets.  Yes… she remembered seeing them in their pens, where he kept them at the ready.  Maybe they remembered her too?  She carefully turned her head to one side and held out a hand, palm down.  “Here puppies… don’t hurt me.  See? I’m a nice person.  If you’re good puppies, I’ll find you a treat.”  No use.  They circled closer and closer, closing in on her as they bared their huge, shining fangs, the flickering light reflecting off of each slick black coat of fur. 

Then she was screaming as they all charged towards her at once.

She woke up for the second time in a place she had hoped never to see again, but at least the hounds were gone. At the sight and the smell of it, memory came flooding back to her, leaving her suddenly gasping for breath.  All of the memories of being here before had felt like dreams, foggy and distant, but now… now they had become sharp and clear, every detail in place and every fear rushing through her shell-shocked mind until her heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest.  This was Balor’s lair, and yes, she had been here before.  This was a room he had brought her to sometimes, and to get to it they had to pass through a shimmering curtain of air.  She thought he had said something about it being a physical wrinkle in time.  She knew already that she had been Balor’s prisoner once before, but now, she remembered how she had gotten here the first time. 

She had…
died
.  There was a battle, weapons flying through the air, grunts and screams.  A big, strong male, running toward her, slashing at the enemy with a great sword, the last of the bodies dropping to the forest floor.  He was calling her name. 
Karis
. 

She
had wanted to hold out her arms to him, but already she was too weak.  She loved the warrior whose face she couldn’t quite see yet in the darkness, and she was leaving him… dying.  Then there was a blinding light, and a stunningly beautiful female warrior appeared. 
Scatha
.  She looked to be arguing with someone that was invisible… or at least far away. 

At last Scatha threw up her hands in frustration and turned to
Karis.  “Come with me.”  To her surprise, Karis found she could stand, walk, even, and she went to Scatha, who took her hand and led her away.  She turned her head to look back, though, when a piercing scream of agony rent the air around her.  The sound had come from the warrior.  Her warrior, as he cradled a now lifeless body in his arms, rocking it and sobbing between alternate curses and prayers.  Her heart ached for him, but she had to follow Scatha, she had no choice, because Scatha led all departed Sidhe souls to the afterlife.  “Bastien…”  How could she leave him here like this?

“Shhhh.  Hush and come along
”, Scatha said in a voice that both soothed and commanded.  “Balor himself wants to see you.”

She remembered all this and more, but mostly Balor.  His unearthly physical beauty was no match for the cruelty that had kept her trapped here for so long.  She hated him.

And speak of the very devil,
a door opened, and there he was, in all his godly splendor.  His dark, piercing eyes locked on her where she lay on the bed.  Sucking in a horrified breath, she bolted upright and scrambled to her knees.  This time her head didn’t swim quite so badly, and she could clearly see the Demon King standing before her in all.  His long, black hair was braided at both temples, his eyes were dark as night, and two smooth horns rose mightily from the top of his head, curling back a little at the tips.  He truly might have been handsome… if he weren’t so ruthless and cruel.  That cruelty surrounded him like a tangible thing, ruining his harsh beauty and ensuring that he was a creature most others feared.  Add to that the powers of a demi-god, and most others didn’t have a chance.  All those years ago, Scatha had delivered her, a young and naïve girl, directly into Balor’s clutches.  Only the untapped Fae magic that enveloped her had kept her safe.  Even Balor could not take her without her consent, and so he had spent all of his time trying to wear her down.  Trying to break her.  But she had been too strong for him, because of Bastien. 

“You left me”, he growled.

Liv knew better than to show any fear.  Demi-god Demons like Balor thrived on the fear of others, or so she’d been told.  Not like
her
Demon. 
Bastien
.  Would she ever see him again now?  She never should have left his room…

“You had no right to keep me locked up.  I was never yours”.  She raised her chin a notch, doing her best to glare at him while keeping her lips from trembling.  Why were males always locking her up? 

“If I had not, you would be dead now. 
Irrevocably
dead.  You were mine, that gift alone made you mine!”

Okay, he kind of had her there.  She would definitely not be here, very much alive, if he hadn’t snatched her on the way to the afterlife.  “Why me?  Why did you want me?”  It was all she could think of to ask.

Balor slowly smiled at her, taking a few measured steps closer.  “Because
you
are the most beautiful, and I
wanted
the most beautiful.  You will give me many beautiful daughters and handsome sons, children my mate did not provide.”

“But I thought Fomoiri could only have children with their mate… which I am not… your mate, that is.”  Bastien had told her so.

Balor only laughed, and the sound was completely without warmth.  “For Fomoiri, that is true, but do not forget, I am also a god.  For us, the rules are sometimes different.”

“Demi-god”,
Liv mumbled under her breath.  He narrowed his eyes at her, but since he wasn’t currently trying to strangle her, she guessed he either hadn’t heard her or was choosing to ignore her. 
Smart, Liv.

  She raised her chin again.  “I will never willingly stay here with you, Balor.  And I will
certainly
never have your children.  I would kill myself first, believe me.”

The look on his face told her she was in trouble
, as his lips slowly curled up into a merciless smile.  He had something on her, an ace up his sleeve, and she knew right then she was about to go down.  She slowly climbed out of the bed, standing gingerly and waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass as she watched him.

“I think you might be willing, after a
ll, love… if you want your pet Demon to live.  I found him just a short distance away, trying to get to you.  And failing.  It was all too easy.”  His eyes dropped to her stomach, and she could almost feel his gaze boring into her.  His lips tightened into a frown as he looked up at her face once more.  “I see that he has already sown his seed, but it won’t be a problem to get rid of the child so that mine can take its place in your womb.  Just the matter of a simple potion.”

Liv
reeled back as if he had physically struck her, and she could have sworn her heart stopped beating.  No… god no, was it true?  Was she carrying Bastien’s baby?  Could Balor really know, just by looking at her?  If she was… if everything he’d told her was true… then she must truly be his mate.  And if a Fomoiri only ever had one mate, then the mate he had lost two hundred years ago… was her.  The warrior she remembered rocking her lifeless body in his arms… was Bastien.  But she already knew that it was him, didn’t she. 

Her heart had been trying to tell her all along. 

Tears welled up behind her eyes as every emotion hit her at once.  Oh god, Bastien… all those years of pain, of no hope… how could she do that to him again?  If she went with Balor to save Bastien, that’s exactly what she would be doing.  But she couldn’t watch him die, either.  The only solution as for both of them to die together… yes, but she would need to find a way… but what if there was really a child?  She couldn’t harm an innocent baby, especially Bastien’s baby… 

“Do you want to save his life
?  He is nothing but a useless Demon to me… but for you I will spare him.”  Balor was moving closer, watching the emotions cross her face with a victorious smirk.  “What a shame if his father loses him now, after he was so kind to return you to me.”

That bastard, don’t remind me.
  Maybe she could escape again?  Was there any other option?  Truthfully, she didn’t
want
to die.  She’d barely begun to live.  Hope surged in Liv’s heart as she decided she would fight for her life, and Bastien.  Until Balor’s next words.